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The Japanese Robot Controversy Lurking in Israel’s Military Supply Chain
Activists claim Japanese industrial robots are being used to build military equipment for Israel. The robot maker denies the claims, but the episode reveals the complex ethics of global manufacturing.
The company’s robotic arms and automated systems are ubiquitous on automotive assembly plants, capable of doing the high-accuracy welding and laser work necessary in aerospace manufacturing, and have become commonplace in plastics, packaging, and a variety of other sectors. This, itself, has drawn the BDS activists’ ire: They want FANUC to end its relationship with American defense contractors like General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, which sell considerable advanced weaponry to Israel. Kevin Wolf, an international trade lawyer and partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, says the activists’ allegations against FANUC may not be quite so clear-cut.
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